INLAND INVESTIGATIONS

APRIL 2008: Search warrants are served on then-San Bernardino County Assessor Bill Postmus as part of an investigation that a couple of years later also led to charges over a $102 million settlement with Colonies Partners the county paid in November 2006. Postmus later pleaded guilty while developer Jeff Burum and three former county officials still have charges pending.

NOVEMBER 2009: Riverside County prosecutors indict four San Jacinto City Council members and five others in a wide-ranging case alleging money-laundering and bribery. All but one defendant eventually took plea bargains.

NOVEMBER 2010: The Inland Regional Corruption Task Force raids the Arrowhead Regional Medical Center. No charges or developments have been announced since.

SEPTEMBER 2011: The task force raids office and storage units at SanBernardino International Airport as well as a home and offices used by Scot Spencer, who had contracts to manage the airport. Charges are now pending against Spencer and a business associate.

APRIL 2013: Investigators raid the homes of four Moreno Valley City Council members and the offices of a real estate broker and developer. One councilman later pleaded guilty to accepting a bribe but no other charges have brought since. The case remains ongoing.

It began with early-morning knocks at the homes of city officials and business offices as federal and local agents served search warrants as part of a public corruption investigation.

By the end of the day, investigators had carted away boxes of documents, computers, hard drives and other material while residents were left to wonder what would come of the raids.

The scene: Moreno Valley, where it will be two years Thursday, April 30, since the homes of council members and the offices of a real estate broker and a developer with deep ties to City Hall were searched.

Such investigations can take a long time to complete and almost all of the key activity takes place behind closed doors. It can take years for allegations to be made public – and cases don’t always end with criminal charges and court proceedings.

Moreno Valley’s experience – and that of other Inland jurisdictions – may serve as an example to Beaumont of how complex and lengthy public corruption investigations can be.

Only one individual has been charged as part of the Moreno Valley investigation – former Councilman Marcelo Co – and that stemmed from a bribery sting operation that took place before the raids. Several current and former city officials have testified before grand juries and numerous documents subpoenaed from City Hall while Co is now a cooperating witness.

Both FBI and Riverside County district attorney’s officials describe the Moreno Valley investigation as still ongoing with no decisions yet on whether to file charges.

“That just shows these can be very lengthy investigations,” said John Hall, spokesman for the Riverside County district attorney.

Public corruption investigations often take longer than most criminal cases, during which law-enforcement agencies generally have already collected evidence that prosecutors review and decide whether to pursue charges, Hall said, who spoke in general because he could not comment on the specific cases.

Searches with corruption cases often come during the early stages of a probe where investigators are still gathering evidence based on allegations.

“There may be follow-up investigation, there could be more warrants that stem from the initial investigation,” Hall said. “It’s really hard to put any kind of time frame to it. There’s a lot to review.”

In both the Beaumont and Moreno Valley searches, a large number of documents, computers and hard drives were seized. That amount of evidence can take longer to sift through, requiring the expertise of forensic investigators to go scrutinize computer files.

“Some cases may take longer than others,” said FBI spokesman Laura Eimiller, who also spoke in general terms about corruption cases. “It’s not uncommon for a corruption investigation to take years.”

In some cases, an investigation may not lead to charges due to a lack of evidence, she said.

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